Questions for Sega Saturn owners (from a new Sega Saturn owner)

[Centrale]

Just texted the guy who sold it to me. Doesn't have a spare battery or a memory cart. Looks like I'm on my own there. Are memory carts cheap?

The batteries are pretty cheap, should just be a few bucks.

In addition to that, I second Barry's recommendation of the Action Replay 4M Plus - for additional save memory, additional RAM, the ability to play Japanese games, and the ability to use cheat codes.

[Moody]

Just double checked: the battery IS in there. I just didn't realize what it looked like.

So I guess it is just dying. I'll wait about an hour to see if my info is still saved on it. Really hope so...

Batteries look pretty cheap, but I'll need help replacing it and that's never fun.


EDIT: Triple checked. The memory IS on the battery, according to the BIOS. My guess is the Saturn is just having difficulty reading it. I fiddled around, and found the battery was slightly loose, so I'm gonna assume that's the issue. Will update as I find out.


EDIT 2: Yep, battery's dying. NiGHTS just happens to make data when you boot it, I figured it was saving my profile or something. Battery only keeps data for a few minutes, then it loses it. Shame, looks like I'll have to replace it after all.

[Barry the Nomad]

Re: Mr. Bones, go for the US version as it is a US game and I've no idea if the JP one is import friendly. (unless you are not from the US, in that case get whatever region you are)

As for the AM2 fighters, please reconsider! I'll admit to not being a fan of fighting games but... Saturn AM2 fighters will convert you. AM2 has the power to draw most any gamer in to a genre they are uneasy with or dislike. At least get Megamix. Daytona's Hornet fighting anybody is worth the price of admission.

The battery in the back is a CR2032, same as VMU's take. Though the Saturn won't drain them near as fast as a VMU. Just buy a 2 or 4 pack and be set for years, and it only costs a few bucks. But the Action Replay cart is a must.

[Moody]

I'll see if I can buy some batteries next time we go shopping. The battery read 3 volt, so I assume any old 3 volt dime battery should do. They do sell them at places like Wal-Mart and such right, or would I need to go to a hardware store? It's not an issue either way (I live in Atlanta, so every store you can think of is somewhere around here), but it'd be convienent to pick one up while grocery shopping.

If that's the case you make, I'll consider Megamix. I've seen .gifs of the car in action, and it looks amazing, truly a highlight of the Saturn's library.

Re: why I don't like fighting games bc someone asked: I've just never been able to wrap my head around them. Pulling off combos, learning lists of moves, realizing the nuances of each character, it's too much for me. I just pick someone who looks cool and hope for the best. It doesn't help that fighting games (at least the ones I've played) don't actually show what buttons do things. Combos just say "kick, punch(it's all in the mind), block, snorkle" but never tells me what button to press for each command. Just frustrates me more than anything. And this is after having tried several Soul Calibur games, Skullgirls, Smash, and probably a Street Fighter at some point.

[Barry the Nomad]

The beauty of AM2 fighters are their simplicity. Don't let the likes of Street Fighter or DoA or Mortal Kombat sully your impression of the genre. In true AM2 fashion, they manage to present the genre in the most easy to understand ways possible. Punch, kick, guard. That's it. While moves exist, you won't need to memorize lists. Try VF2 or Fighting Vipers (or ideally Megamix) and you'll find some very fun, very easy to get into fighting games. No crazy super moves or magic powers, just pure virtual fighting.

[MadeManG74]

Honestly, I would get a memory cartridge, unless you don't want to wait for shipping. Each cart holds so much memory you'll never run out, and mine hasn't lost any battery charge in all the years I've had it (do they even take batteries on the cart?).

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Sega-Saturn-8-meg-memory-cart-/151718676725?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23532348f5

I guess it also depends on how much you plan to play the Saturn. Mine was played for like 15 years or something with a big library so it was worth it. If you're only after a handful of games then maybe just find the batteries at Walmart and see how far they carry you first.

If that's the case you make, I'll consider Megamix. I've seen .gifs of the car in action, and it looks amazing, truly a highlight of the Saturn's library.

Re: why I don't like fighting games bc someone asked: I've just never been able to wrap my head around them. Pulling off combos, learning lists of moves, realizing the nuances of each character, it's too much for me. I just pick someone who looks cool and hope for the best. It doesn't help that fighting games (at least the ones I've played) don't actually show what buttons do things. Combos just say "kick, punch(it's all in the mind), block, snorkle" but never tells me what button to press for each command. Just frustrates me more than anything. And this is after having tried several Soul Calibur games, Skullgirls, Smash, and probably a Street Fighter at some point.

Even though I'm the biggest fighting game nut on this board (maybe except inthesky?) If you really really don't like fighters, I don't know if AM2 fighters will convert you, even though they are amongst the best games ever made.

Fighting games do take patience and you need to want to play them. They aren't the kind of game you get much out of just by mashing or diving in without putting in at least a little bit of work. This isn't bashing you, it's just agreeing that not everyone 'gets' them.

As Barry said, AM2 fighters are renowned for their simplicity to start, but very high skill ceiling once you get an understanding. Input buttons are limited to Guard, Punch and Kick, and all moves are combinations of those three or direction inputs + one of them.

If you need to choose only ONE game, go for Fighters Megamix, since it's exclusive to Saturn and probably the most casual friendly. Having said that, Virtua Fighter 2 is far and away the superior game. I would suggest getting that on X360 or PS3 though, which is an arcade perfect port rather than the Saturn port which had a lot of graphical compromises (at the time it still blew away everything though, it was phenomenal).

As I said, VF2 is one of the very best games ever. Not fighting games, but best games ever. At the same time, I don't know if you'll appreciate if you don't like fighting games, which is fine.

[Moody]

Thank you both very, very much for your help and recommendations. I'll be picking up batteries when I can, and once I start making more money again, I'll be looking into Saturn game prices to decide what to get first. If my library gets big, I'll upgrade to a memory cart, but for now I'm fine with the battery.

[MadeManG74]

I'll be looking into Saturn game prices

Brace yourself.

[crackdude]

Don't buy a regular Memory Cart, go for the Action Replay 4M.
It allows you to save games, play games that need RAM expansion and play import games (very important in the long run)

[Team Andromeda]

Brace yourself.

Yes but some of the best games don't cost that much. 

[MadeManG74]

Yes but some of the best games don't cost that much. 

True, not all the games are super rare, but a lot of Saturn games are pretty pricey.
You can often pick up JPN versions for cheaper than US or PAL too, and most games are pretty light on story and text so it won't matter.

[Moody]

What Mang said seems to be pretty true. For giggles, I picked up a Japanese copy of NiGHTS, seal-wrapped. It was priced at thirty five dollars. Later on, I found out that regular copies of the game go for only around ten. I was figuring I was getting it with a cheap price attached, but it turned out to be a rip-off. Still love it though.

[MadeManG74]

What Mang said seems to be pretty true. For giggles, I picked up a Japanese copy of NiGHTS, seal-wrapped. It was priced at thirty five dollars. Later on, I found out that regular copies of the game go for only around ten. I was figuring I was getting it with a cheap price attached, but it turned out to be a rip-off. Still love it though.

Sealed games are worth much more than opened, $35 is quite good for a sealed game that old.

[Team Andromeda]

What Mang said seems to be pretty true. For giggles, I picked up a Japanese copy of NiGHTS, seal-wrapped. It was priced at thirty five dollars. Later on, I found out that regular copies of the game go for only around ten. I was figuring I was getting it with a cheap price attached, but it turned out to be a rip-off. Still love it though.

Well at least you got the spin card . Quite a lot of the better Saturn games can be picked up on the cheap , before you start to go for the more costly games

Get the likes of Die Hard Arcade, X-Men COTA, Exhumed/Powerslave, Mass Destruction, Darius Gaiden, ClockWork Knight II, Pazner Dragoon 1 (its much better than the XBox 'PC' Port) and II , VC 1 and II, WSB 98, Sega Rally , Bug II, Street Racer, AMOK, Astal, Gun Griffon , Dark Saviour, Bomberman for starters

[MadeManG74]

So I mentioned earlier about the Jevon's control method;

The Official Sega Saturn Magazine is probably the best gaming mag I've ever read. From memory it was pretty highly regarded back in the day, and had excellent scoops, news and features, and the contributors spent a lot of time with developers. Pretty often their names would end up in the credits of games too.

Most notable was Dan Jevons in Lobotomy Software's games. He suggested to the developers the idea of using the analogue pad to simulate 'Mouse look' by using the face buttons to move back and forward and strafe, while using the analogue stick to 'look'. It became known in their games as the "Jevons Controls" and could be accessed via cheat codes.

Mick:
The "Jevons' Method" of controller configuration in the Saturn's version of Quake was reportedly so-called after SSM journo Dan Jevons suggested it at the developer’s offices…
True or False?

Rich:
Yes, Dan was working at GameFan at the time and then moved on to work for a while at Lobotomy so that story is 100% true. We both petitioned hard to get the support into the Lobotomy games as it was the closest Saturn could do to a ‘mouse look’ style of control.

http://www.segasaturn.co.uk/dd/interviews/rich_leadbetter.html

It was used in Duke Nukem 3D on Saturn as well as Quake. I'm not sure what other games might have used it, but it's essentially the precursor to modern 'Twin stick' controls for FPS games on consoles.


I also wanted to link Moody (and anyone who might be interested) to this issue of SSM, with their run down of what they thought were the top 50 games available for the system. It's good read, and you might find some hidden gems that we've forgotten about!
https://archive.org/stream/Official_Sega_Saturn_Magazine_028/Official_Sega_Saturn_Magazine_028_-_february_1998_UK#page/n55/mode/2up

Turn to page 55 for the start of the article.